Duties and Responsibilities
The primary role of the Record Vault is to house the official records relating to real property. Employees in Gulfport and Biloxi maintain a system of indexes by legal description in order for attorneys and abstractors to be able to research the history of any parcel of land in Harrison County. They also help the general public locate and copy any of these records, such as deeds to their property and dimensions of subdivision lots. Employees, however, cannot give legal advice on property matters, research titles or perform lien searches; people should contact a real estate attorney for such information.

Older Chancery Court files and related records are also stored in the Record Vault, along with land rolls and tax receipts for earlier years. Many of these records date back to Harrison County's creation in 1841.

*For large amounts of copies, researchers may open accounts with the Recording Supervisor to make their own copies. You may contact the Recording Supervisor at 228-865-4036 or nlear@co.harrison.ms.us.
(Note: Separate accounts can be set up for both in-office research and the Internet website.)This rate does not apply to UCC's and federal liens.

Additional fees for copies by mail
Research fee (if book & page not supplied) - $2.50 per instrument
Mailing fee (if pre-paid envelope not included) - $1.00 per request
Requests by mail for copies of Chancery Court decrees and related records are a flat $10.00, including certification if requested (subject to billing for additional copies if the file is large).

We require payment in advance for copies, per Section 25-61-7 of the Mississippi Code. Make your check or money order to:John McAdams, Chancery Clerk.

(For federal liens, if you pay the search request fee, we will bill you for copies of any liens found.)WE CANNOT FAX COPIES, NOR CAN WE GIVE INFORMATION ABOUT FEDERAL LIENS OVER THE TELEPHONE.

Requests by mail are normally answered within one to two working days.

Website
Harrison County’s deed and mortgage record indexes have been computerized by name since 1985 and by legal description in more recent years. These indexes are available online through the County’s website. On the box at left, click on Land Records Online. This information is normally current through the previous business day. Actual images of most of these documents are available for viewing and printing at a fee of $0.75 per page with a credit card, or $0.50 per page through a copy account mentioned above (the entire document must be purchased).

Indexes for federal tax liens, construction liens and condominium liens are available online under "General Instruments;" however, due to the sensitive nature of some information, the documents themselves will not be available through the website.